—Frequently Asked Questions—

About Our Practice   |   Scheduling & Payment Information   |   About Tutoring   | COVID-19

How do I know if my child needs tutoring?

If your child complains about school, avoids homework, or doesn’t seem to you to be making progress in his/her skills in general. Engaging tutoring sessions once or twice a week can really jump-start your child’s motivation for learning!

When to get tested?

Academic testing by a licensed tester provides a lot of information, but is very pricey, as you likely know already!  After I meet with a client for a few weeks I can tell you if formal testing seems appropriate. My informal assessments and observations may answer many of the questions you may have about your child’s learning needs.

How often should my child work with you?  

I encourage families to commit to twice a week, at least in the beginning.  This provides the consistency that children need in order to really make progress in any area. The children I see twice weekly get right to work because they remember our routines more easily. They also open up more to me about their own frustrations with school work, reading challenges, and other topics that may be impacting their ability to learn.  This feedback from kids is invaluable to me, and I’m able to share these insights with parents which improves communication in families. 

Do you offer sibling discounts?

Yes! It is so convenient to see 2 or more children in a family consecutively, at the same location, that I give that time and energy savings back to you!  Individual sessions start at $110. per hour, and a 20% discount is applied for each sibling.

How can The Towson Tutor support your child’s virtual learning?

I use my extensive classroom teaching background to provide insights into teacher expectations. Best practices such as ‘chunking’ the work, simplifying directions, and giving real-world examples to spark children’s own prior knowledge will be incorporated regularly. Students with language-based learning differences and ADHD will benefit from my concrete materials that supplement the visual modality of the screen. Enrichment activities, non-screen, will be provided to, and explored with your child!

How can you motivate my child to stay on task with virtual learning?

After years of teaching in both public and private schools, I am familiar with the demands on teachers to get material covered in set time frames. Despite these timing constraints, children need to believe that the work they are doing has meaning for them. One strategy I share is to provide your child with simple charts to complete when they finish tasks. The charts provide not only provide structure, but self-evaluation, and motivation, especially when paired with honest feedback from others. We do not need to overpraise our children. We need them to learn to evaluate their own efforts so they gain internal motivation.

Are you meeting face to face with clients during Covid-19 outbreaks?

I am meeting face to face with clients in my home office. I do keep very strict adherence myself to CDC guidelines. When we meet in person, your child and I will maintain appropriate physical distancing. Materials will be shared sparingly, if at all. Your child/children will have individual folders for materials as well.

How can you help my family get organized and stay organized with virtual learning?

I will listen to your priorities, your family’s commitments, and examine your child’s school’s schedule to design a plan to maximize your child’s learning time. I will meet with you and your child bi-weekly to check in on how the plan is working. Your child will learn valuable skills in communication, reflection, and time management! Gaining these skills is an advantage to maximizing this new learning environment. In addition, I will frequently share both real and virtual resources to add to certain blocks on the schedule, like games, exercises, books to listen to, safe outdoor meetups, and more!